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<\/a>Keith:<\/strong>\u00a0 One of the hardest English foods to get in America, I’ve found, is the pork pie.\u00a0 If you haven’t had one, think of the pork pie as the northern cousin of the pasty (and you can’t walk through Mineral Point without tripping over a pasty).\u00a0 Even as my beloved Scotch egg\u00a0<\/a>becomes more and more common in restaurants, pork pies are still few and far between.<\/p>\n Because I’m not\u00a0much of a\u00a0baker (dough and I historically have not played well together), I never really thought of making my own.\u00a0 Luckily, Leslie loves kitchen experiments and she decided to take on this delicious project.\u00a0 While she did all the hard\u00a0work I got to keep trying samples and giving advice to recreate the proper pie.\u00a0 Here’s hoping it becomes a yearly tradition.<\/p>\n Leslie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I first made these pork pies two years ago.\u00a0 It was really fun to place my pork-centric order\u00a0with Lois at Marr Valley View Farms<\/a>.\u00a0 I asked for pork shoulder,\u00a0lard, pork bones, trotters, pork belly, and bacon!\u00a0\u00a0 Even\u00a0better was the actual process.\u00a0 There are several steps to to make these delicious meaty treats which we will divide\u00a0into 3\u00a0segments.\u00a0 It is quite time consuming but I guarantee that your taste buds will be pleased.\u00a0 I followed Nigel Slater<\/a>‘s recipe<\/a> except for replacing the regular bacon\u00a0with smoked bacon and adding a bit of salt into the meat (right before filling the pastry).<\/p>\n RECIPE<\/strong><\/p>\n Ingredients<\/em><\/p>\n Filling<\/strong><\/p>\n Pastry<\/strong><\/p>\n Stock<\/strong><\/p>\n I.\u00a0<\/strong> Start by making the filling, chop up the meats into small cubes or use a meat grinder.\u00a0 You’ll get better texture doing it by hand but it is a lot of pork to cut up.\u00a0 I’ve done it both ways and it’s not a huge difference.\u00a0 Add the spices, wrap it up and store in the fridge.<\/p>\n II.<\/strong>\u00a0Next is the pastry.\u00a0 Place the lard and water into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.\u00a0 Set aside.\u00a0 Measure the flour and place it into a bowl.\u00a0 Add the hot lard and water into it.\u00a0 Mix until it is incorporated.<\/p>\n III.<\/strong>\u00a0 Make the stock.\u00a0 Put the pork shoulder bone, trotters, vegetables, peppercorn and salt into a stock pot and cover with cold water.\u00a0 Bring to a boil and simmer for about 3 hours, skimming off the scum that forms on the surface, and topping it up with more water as necessary.\u00a0 After it has cooled a bit, strain the liquid so you have a clean broth.\u00a0Refrigerate overnight.\u00a0 The liquid should have turned into jelly with a coating of fat on the surface.\u00a0 Carefully scrape off the solid\u00a0fat and discard.<\/p>\n *The first 3 sections can be done a day ahead of time.\u00a0 The second day can be the forming, baking, and eating time.\u00a0 I suggest going about it this way.<\/p>\n Now that you’ve got all the components, it’s time to make the pies.\u00a0Make sure the pastry is at room temperature so that it’s easier to work with.\u00a0 If freshly made,\u00a0wait a bit until it is cool enough to handle.\u00a0 \u00a0Set oven temperature to 356 degrees Fahreheit.\u00a0 There are many ways to form the pies.\u00a0 The traditional way is to make small pies that are about 3 inches in diameter and and inch and a half in height.\u00a0 Grab a fist size mound of dough, form it into sphere, then press it down using the canning jar until it’s about 1\/4 inch thick and about a\u00a05 inch diameter circle.\u00a0\u00a0Press the extra\u00a0pastry toward the jar to form a cup shape that is about an inch tall.\u00a0 Trim then fill with the meat mixture.\u00a0\u00a0Roll out\u00a0some\u00a0more dough\u00a0for the top piece.\u00a0 Repeat process until you’ve used up all the meat.\u00a0 (I like to form all the cups and tops first before filling.)\u00a0 Score the top with an x or cut a small hole on it.\u00a0 Make extra cuts toward the side of the pies.\u00a0 (The\u00a0holes will help the stock seep in after baking.)\u00a0 Brush with the egg wash.\u00a0 Bake for 30 minutes at 356 degrees F then lower to 320 and bake for an additional 90 minutes or until the pastry is golden.\u00a0 About 30 minutes before the baking is done, bring the\u00a0jellied stock to a boil and add some salt to taste (if you made it a day ahead of time).\u00a0 Right after baking, ladle the stock\u00a0carefully\u00a0over the pies, making sure that it is getting\u00a0inside the pies.\u00a0 When it\u00a0has\u00a0cooled, it should look like the picture below.\u00a0 I decorated the pies with some dried sage leaves from my summer garden.<\/p>\n![\"porkpies2\"](\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/porkpies2.jpg\")
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